Thursday, 14 February 2013

2-1 Embarks on the DT School bag Challenge!

How do I design the ideal school bag for my buddy?

On 14 Feb, 2-1 had their first taste of the Design Thinking problem solving process. They were tasked with the challenge of designing a school bag to meet the needs of their class buddies. Rather than asking direct questions about the school bag, 2-1 was told to begin by getting to know their buddies all over again by finding out about exactly what their buddies "need" and how they would like to "feel". Students had great fun during this interview process and they seemed to have gotten to know their class buddies much better.

After discovering their buddies' needs, it became clear that the goal of this challenge was not about the school bag at all, in fact they could design anything, limited only by their creativity, so long to meet the needs of the users. When it was time to prototype their products, 2-1 rose to the challenge with enthusiasm! Everyone promptly began to search for appropriate materials for creating their designed products.

It was commendable that students demonstrated team work and cooperation with one another even as they were working under time pressure to complete the task. Well done indeed!

Once having obtained suitable prototyping materials, 2-1 dived into the creation process dutifully.

After around 20 minutes of labour, most of the products were finished. There was a wide variety of designs, many of which demonstrated creativity, and more importantly, the thoughtfulness to meet the real needs of their buddies.

Sample students' work:

Keng Swee needs a way to carry all his items with him in a way that makes them feel safe

My prototype is a very light lock to lock his bag so that he will have all his items kept safely with him. The lock is very light so it would not add extra weight to his bag.

Reyaaz needs a way to protect his uniform from getting wet in the rain in a way that makes him feel cool.

Megan needs to improve in her studies by paying attention in class. The design is based on a mechanism which will tend to wake her up during lessons whenever she falls asleep. It actually consists of a cup, a follower(supported)in the shape of a cute rabbit with a few dialogues and a bell attached to the end of the follower.

The speeches of the rabbit are to encourage her not to sleep in class, stay calm and continue to carry on. The follower is attached to a bell because students or teachers can push the follower up and down in order for the bell to ring.

At the end of the session, students proudly shared the design of their products with their friends and the teachers. It was a great start to 2-1's Design Thinking M.A.D. journey!